The Basque Country

A Cultural History

Nonfiction, Travel, Europe, Spain & Portugal, History
Cover of the book The Basque Country by Paddy Woodworth, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Paddy Woodworth ISBN: 9780199886890
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: December 27, 2007
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Paddy Woodworth
ISBN: 9780199886890
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: December 27, 2007
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

The Basque Country is a land of fascinating paradoxes and enigmas. Home to one of Europe's oldest peoples and most mysterious languages, with a living folklore rich in archaic rituals and dances, it also boasts a dynamic modern energy, with the reinvention of Bilbao creating a model for the twenty-first-century city. In The Basque Country, Paddy Woodworth takes us on a sweeping tour of this enchanting land. We discover a small territory which abounds in big contrasts, ranging from moist green valleys to semi-desert badlands, from snowy sierras to sandy beaches, from harsh industrial landscapes to bucolic beech woods. The book reveals how this often idyllic scenery forms the backdrop for a land of ancient and modern culture, where Basque poets still compose spontaneous stanzas in public contests and where strange age-old sports--rock lifting, goose decapitation--are still held at fiestas. Likewise, the region has made important contributions to modern culture, through novelists like Bernardo Atxaga, sculptors like Eduardo Chillida, painters like Zuluoaga, and cineastes like Julio Medem. And of course Bilbao's flagship museum, the Guggenheim, designed by Frank O. Gehry, may be the best work of architecture of the last century. Here then is a marvelous guide to the culture and landscape of one of the most intriguing places on Earth.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Basque Country is a land of fascinating paradoxes and enigmas. Home to one of Europe's oldest peoples and most mysterious languages, with a living folklore rich in archaic rituals and dances, it also boasts a dynamic modern energy, with the reinvention of Bilbao creating a model for the twenty-first-century city. In The Basque Country, Paddy Woodworth takes us on a sweeping tour of this enchanting land. We discover a small territory which abounds in big contrasts, ranging from moist green valleys to semi-desert badlands, from snowy sierras to sandy beaches, from harsh industrial landscapes to bucolic beech woods. The book reveals how this often idyllic scenery forms the backdrop for a land of ancient and modern culture, where Basque poets still compose spontaneous stanzas in public contests and where strange age-old sports--rock lifting, goose decapitation--are still held at fiestas. Likewise, the region has made important contributions to modern culture, through novelists like Bernardo Atxaga, sculptors like Eduardo Chillida, painters like Zuluoaga, and cineastes like Julio Medem. And of course Bilbao's flagship museum, the Guggenheim, designed by Frank O. Gehry, may be the best work of architecture of the last century. Here then is a marvelous guide to the culture and landscape of one of the most intriguing places on Earth.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Audio Production Principles by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book The Craft of Ritual Studies by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Morality After Calvin by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Sabina Augusta by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Landscapes of the Soul by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book War in the Gulf, 1990-91 by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Walking the Tightrope of Reason by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book A History of Western Choral Music, Volume 2 by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Souls in Transition:The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book The Great Wave by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book After the Spring:Economic Transitions in the Arab World by Paddy Woodworth
Cover of the book Not Passion's Slave by Paddy Woodworth
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy